Will ONE frigging HW step up to the plate before it's too late?!?

[TitoFan]

B-Hop is your man.

Well, if James Fat Ass Toney can bloat himself up and pass for a heavyweight, I'm sure an old B-Hop can do it too.

[IamInuit]

A competitive division? I'm not going to trounce the Klits but lets get real here. This division has not been competitive or aesthetically pleasing for over a decade. What has happened to this division is that
people have actually accepted mediocrity as the new normal.

Wlad sells out a 60 thousand capacity arena for a fight against Chagaev and people leave satisfied refusing to acknowledge what just took place.

[Freedom]

The inactivity of several highly ranked heavyweights and the refusal of promoters to make meaningful matchups is ruining the division.

Vyacheslav Glazkov's management was turnd down by at least 10 heavyweights before they settled on Malik Scott. It would have been a good payday and an appearance on NBC television, but surprisingly the managers/promoters even of heavyweights who seem to be going nowhere (like Franklin Lawrence and Joe Hanks) turned it down.

There are a LOT of interesting matchups that could be made in the division between the top 25 rated boxers, but the promoters seem to be unwilling to do it.

[El Kabong]

Wlad sells out a 60 thousand capacity arena for a fight against Chagaev and people leave satisfied refusing to acknowledge what just took place.

.....a one sided beat down of a formerly undefeated fighter??

Wlad is a very technical fighter. That style isn't for everyone, BUT most successful fighters in general (heavyweights or not) use their skills and physical abilities to their advantage. Tomy Hearns was best when he usedhis height & reach, Tyson when he was in a crouch and made himself a smaller target, Holyfield when he was in close and applying constant pressure & using his head & elbows.

People hate on Wlad for fighting the style that makes him most successful and well to be honest it makes you guys seem like poor losers....Wlad has fought bigger competition, but they aren't as skilled as he is it's as plain as that. Wlad is the most skilled heavyweight out there and his dominant, why should he handicap himself in order to please people who wouldn't be his fans anyway?

[IamInuit]

Wlad sells out a 60 thousand capacity arena for a fight against Chagaev and people leave satisfied refusing to acknowledge what just took place.

.....a one sided beat down of a formerly undefeated fighter??

Wlad is a very technical fighter. That style isn't for everyone, BUT most successful fighters in general (heavyweights or not) use their skills and physical abilities to their advantage. Tomy Hearns was best when he usedhis height & reach, Tyson when he was in a crouch and made himself a smaller target, Holyfield when he was in close and applying constant pressure & using his head & elbows.

People hate on Wlad for fighting the style that makes him most successful and well to be honest it makes you guys seem like poor losers....Wlad has fought bigger competition, but they aren't as skilled as he is it's as plain as that. Wlad is the most skilled heavyweight out there and his dominant, why should he handicap himself in order to please people who wouldn't be his fans anyway?

Please that was a sparring contest and that’s what I meant by the public buying mediocrity lock, stock and barrel. And ftr I don’t even blame Wlad. It’s not his fault that the level of competition is dryer then a 20 year old cow moose but it is. Look you play the hand you are dealt. He is a bore to watch but whatever works. Its not because I hate him its because he’s a bore to watch. And lots of fighters are undefeated. Wilder is 27 and 0 and has not fought anyone with a pulse.

How often to you see me hating on Wlad? I’d like to think that I can discuss him w/o getting personal or pointing fingers but from a fan of the sports perspective. Like I said it’s whatever works. He’s not going to volunteer to be punched in the face. Guys like Frazier and Tyson would have seized the moment at tried to get under that jab and dare I say would have been successful. All of Wlads opposition for the most part has folded once they look across the ring prior to the opening bell. I blame his competition more then I blame Wlad. And ftr I am not a fan of this heavyweight division. I don’t blame Wlad for fighting tall and using all his attributes. I wish Paul Williams would have fought taller. The last great heavyweight fight that I recall watching with any degree of interest was Lewis/Vitali. I do not recall a great fight involving Wlad and disliking him or liking him has nothing to do with it.

[boyla]

Agree with points made about Wlad not being famous.

Him sharing the Heavy Weight title with his brother is farcical, dilutes the division

PPV fights and boxing no longer being on terrestrial tv has played its part to.

Boxing as a whole is on the decline

[TitoFan]

nice thread. you should add Fury to the list and Pulev

Thanks for the observation, you're right. Fury has youth and size on his side. Pulev is a cagey enough fighter... but somehow I don't see him being able to stand in there with a Klitschko. One thing that stands out is the low number of pro fights at his age. In Fury's case... he's got to be careful he doesn't run into a "Tony Thompson" on his way up. Hopefully, one or two legitimate threats to the Klits will clearly emerge in the next year and a half or so.

I'm glad for Fury that he won. But I don't see a threat to Wladimir anytime soon. Fury's too raw, too chinny, and there's no telling how he'd react to the bright lights of a Wlad fight.

[beenKOed]

Wlad sells out a 60 thousand capacity arena for a fight against Chagaev and people leave satisfied refusing to acknowledge what just took place.

.....a one sided beat down of a formerly undefeated fighter??

Wlad is a very technical fighter. That style isn't for everyone, BUT most successful fighters in general (heavyweights or not) use their skills and physical abilities to their advantage. Tomy Hearns was best when he usedhis height & reach, Tyson when he was in a crouch and made himself a smaller target, Holyfield when he was in close and applying constant pressure & using his head & elbows.

People hate on Wlad for fighting the style that makes him most successful and well to be honest it makes you guys seem like poor losers....Wlad has fought bigger competition, but they aren't as skilled as he is it's as plain as that. Wlad is the most skilled heavyweight out there and his dominant, why should he handicap himself in order to please people who wouldn't be his fans anyway?

I agree, I'm not a big fan of the Klits, but it's not their fault that the division is less than stellar.
Should they change the way they fight, to make the fights more exciting for us?

[TitoFan]

So who's next up to the plate in the "Next Challenge to Wlad" sweepstakes??

• David Price lost by TKO to Thompson and took a huge step back.
• Tyson Fury knocked out Steve Cunningham, but in the process created more question marks than he answered, as far as his chances against a Wlad.
• Helenius is injured and it's anybody's guess when he'll be back.
• Deontay Wilder keeps fighting bums off the street, and his timetable might not mesh with Wlad, who eventually has to retire.
• Arreola is finally fighting Stiverne... but Arreola is a Vitali retread and I'm not sure how he'd do against Wlad.

After Wlad dispatches the great Francesco Pianeta..............
Who's next?

[El Kabong]

Who's next?

It doesn't matter, just another W for Wlad...though a fight vs the winner of Arreola-Stiverne is most interesting in my opinion. Perhaps he could coax Valuev out of retirement?